We propose to examine the legal rights of minors to receive mental health services and to explore the ways in which their legal status has affected the distribution of these services. Careful study will be made of ways in which the legal dependence of minors on parents affects physicians, hospitals, courts, social agencies, and other institutions concerned with the mental well-being of children. We shall focus upon three points of contact between the therapist or the institution and the adolescent seeking help: entrance into therapy, the treatment process, and release from - or termination of - therapy. Within this framework, the project will consist of a stage primarily involving legal research followed by a field survey of mental health professionals and institutions to determine their actual practices in treating adolescents. Lastly, we shall evaluate the research findings and prepare a final report. We anticipate the study will provide a realistic analysis of the availability of mental health services to minors and the factors that limit the access of adolescents to this type of care. It is expected that this research, in addition to adding to the literature, will result in either a model state statute and regulations or guidelines for use by professionals and para-professionals in the mental health field.